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| About Mary's Mosaic Process |
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| The usual mosaic
tiles are only a small portion of the tesserae Mary uses. She also
uses china, porcelain, pottery, ceramic, glass, seashells, stones,
metal, and even petrified wood and costume jewelry. Her specialty is
working with broken china dishes and figurines. She has created
magical flower gardens and butterflies out of grandma's old china,
sunflowers out of ceramic pumpkin cookie jars, bodacious hearts out
of broken chili peppers, sun and moon portraits out of plates and
mirrors, and even candleholders out of broken Waterford crystal
goblets, seashells and costume jewelry. Most of the tesserae comes
from her husband, Andy, a general contractor who finds amazing stuff
left behind in the vacant homes he fixes and remodels. His
"found-treasures-into-tesserae" range from ceramic tiles of all
colors and sizes, to glass globs and marbles, to fine china and even
ceramic flamingo figurines. Andy often cuts pieces on a wet saw to
Mary's specifications, but usually Mary works with the natural
breaks, whacks pieces with a hammer, or uses tile nippers or wheeled
glass nippers to make her tesserae. Mary
butters each mosaic piece one at a time with tubed tile adhesive,
and almost always uses bright white adhesive, in order to maximize
the color purity of the glass tesserae (globs, marbles, stained
glass, etc.). Her mosaics reflect the diverse textures and forms of
the many different tesserae she uses, and are especially accessible
for tactile viewing.
Mosaics made on Wonderboard or other concrete
bases are suitable for outdoor use and display. Mosaics made on wood
are best displayed indoors or in outdoor areas that are protected
from extreme weather temperatures and the elements. |
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